Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 26 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Wednesday.
Here is the Top 40 in full.
Obviously some of the records will be the same as last week so therefore the review will be the same for these. I've indicated which ones are new so you can skip the others if you read last weeks post.
Once again my opinions are inevitably going to differ from other people, but I'm not trying to convince anyone something is good or rubbish, I'm simply giving my opinion.
So this is the top 30 from this week in 1998 with my verdict on each record:
We were in a bit of a wilderness period when it came to dance music from Holland in the Top 40. This was the first one since September the previous year. Unfortunately this record is very much on the cheesy side and sounds poundland Ultra Nate.
Verdict - Rubbish
The only Top 40 hit for Marcy Playground which I feel was much better known in America than the UK. They're described as being post-grunge and have been compared to Nirvana. Not sure I see the resemblance if I'm honest except like a lot of Nirvana's material it's not very good.
Verdict - Rubbish
28. Juice - Best Days (New)
We'd had a few British girl groups entering the Top 40 following the success of the Spice Girls, but now was the turn of Juice, a Danish girl group to have a go. It is every bit as bad as that sounds on paper. Fortunately they never troubled the Top 40 again.
Verdict - Rubbish
27. BT - Remember (New)
Although we're just over half way through the Top 40 career of BT, this will be the last time he'll feature as it was his last hit of the 90s to reach the Top 30. It's not a bad record, but it's too obvious and too vocal heavy to be truly great.
Verdict - OK
26. Ben Folds Five - Brick (New)
The penultimate Top 40 hit to date for Ben Folds Five which was also their joint highest charting. This ones a little slow and as a result sounds less humorous then one would expect from Ben Folds Five. Not a bad record though.
Verdict - OK
The 2nd Top 40 hit for Five and they reached the Top 5 for the first time. No Swedish songwriters this time, instead it's Eliot Kennedy along with Tim Lever and Mike Percy from Dead or Alive. I recall this being heavily promoted on The Big Breakfast at the time with the band appearing all week.
Verdict - Rubbish
I was a bit confused when I started playing this record. I remember this being a cheesy dance record but that wasn't what I was hearing. Turns out I needed the Almighty Single Edit. That meant double the torture for me, it's like Italy's answer to Aqua.
Verdict - Rubbish
This is the record All Seeing I were best known for but it wasn't their highest charting. It's a cover of the Sonny & Cher record done big beat style. Very catchy and a record that I always liked at the time.
Verdict - Good
Aaliyah was only 19 at the time but she'd already clocked up 11 Top 40 hits. Funny how she waited until she was an adult to release a Disney record though. This is actually a lot more upbeat than I remember it, perhaps it's that Disney association with depressing music. Still a bit naff though.
Verdict - Rubbish
The Top 40 debut for Destiny's Child which was an early sign of what crap was around the corner in the 21st century. To be fair to Destiny's Child they were only 16 at the time so can be excused. It doesn't excuse the shite Beyonce continues to release into her 40s.
Verdict - Rubbish
When I first heard this I was amazed that a rock band could make such a record. Then I recall them playing the original version of TFI Friday which was miserable. It then became clear when I discovered than the version we all know and love was the Norman Cook remix.
Verdict - Good
911 were well established by now to the point they could release any old crap that few people notice and it charts high. That roughly translates as we're now into the territory of 911 records that I don't remember. I preferred it that way.
Verdict - Rubbish
It had been a year since Madonna had been in the Top 40. The last time she'd been in the Top 40 was with those god awful Evita songs. In a way this record was quite refreshing in comparison. She was being more experimental again, but I have to say this records not for me.
Verdict - Rubbish
I've read the description of this record as a departure from her signature brand of crossover dance pop and R&B to a pure R&B and soul vibe. What complete and utter bollocks. They're trying to give the impressions she's releasing something real rather than commercial, but she isn't really.
Verdict - Rubbish
Solid Harmonie were back with a 2nd Top 40 hit and once again it's penned by Max Martin. It would be their highest charting hit. It very much follows that Swedish songwriting formula that we were getting used to which means it was written to sell than to be any good.
Verdict - Rubbish
The rap and R&B crossover sound is one that divides opinion. I think it's produced some great records personally. At the same time though there are records where the R&B act bring nothing to the table and it seems nothing but a PR stunt. This is one of those records.
Verdict - Rubbish
"Here's Where The Story Ends" is perhaps the best known record by The Sundays, but this cover by Tin Tin Out was the only version which made the Top 40. It was the 6th Top 40 hit for Tin Tin Out but just the 2nd to make the Top 30 and their first Top 10. They were making dance music prior to this, but this is a change in direction and the reason why I'd start getting Tin Tin Out and Sixpence None The Richer mixed up.
Verdict - Rubbish
This record charting meant that Daniel O'Donnell had a hit every year from 1992 to 1998. Only Elton John, Madonna, Bryan Adams and Janet Jackson had achieved the same at this point. It was also his only Top 10 hit. Again, who was buying these records?
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the first Spice Girls hit not to top the charts. Geri Halliwell was so pissed off she decided to leave the group. OK not strictly true, but this was the last Spice Girls hit before she did leave. It's their attempt at making a Motown record, something Emma Bunton also did badly in her solo career.
Verdict - Rubbish
11. Ultra - Say You Do (New)
The Top 40 career of North and South had just ended which left a gap for another 3rd rate boy band to fill. Welcome to the Top 40 Ultra. This was no ordinary boy band though, they were a boy band who played instruments. All been done before though. Remember Let Loose?
Verdict - Rubbish
Robbie Williams solo career had been given a boost following the release of "Angels" and this was the follow up single. One thing I never really appreciated until I saw a live band play this record was just how good the bass line is to this. He was now finding his own identity as a pop singer.
Verdict - Good
The Top 40 debut for Leann Rimes. I once took part in a quiz where a question was who charted in 1997 with "How Do I Live" to which I confidently answered Leann Rimes. The answer was Trisha Yearwood who reached number 66 with it. Leann Rimes was in 1998 and is the better known version. Although not the first person younger than me to chart, I do recall a younger Leann Rimes charting making me start to think have I missed the boat already in my music career.
Verdict - Rubbish
The biggest hit for K-Ci and JoJo. I was still purely listening to rave at the time but did find myself drawn towards this for some reason. I did eventually get into K-Ci And JoJo via the garage scene which then lead to me buying all their albums. The "Love Always" album is one of my all time favourites.
Verdict - Good
The 4th Top 40 hit for Sash! and the first not to reach number 2. It sounds like they're trying to do "Chariots of Fire" eurodance style. Very cheesy and predictable, but they were onto a winning formula so why not.
Verdict - Rubbish
6. Ultra Nate - Found A Cure (New)
It had been almost a year since Ultra Nate charted with "Free". That record was around for such a long time though that it didn't feel like it had been that long. It's not a record you really hear anymore and I have to say it hasn't aged well. Not bad though.
Verdict - OK
At the time I remember this being this opening song of Top of the Pops for a few weeks in a row. At least that's what it felt. There also seemed to be a lot of people on the stage so I assumed they were a band with many members, but it turned out there were only 2 of them in Savage Garden. Never before have I seen a song contradict a band name so much. I do like some of their music, but not the soppy ballads.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember hearing this song and that it was by someone called Billie Myers, but then seeing it and discovering it was actually a woman singing it. I recall Chris Moyles acknowledging that fact by playing it on the radio and singing along by saying "I'm a bloke, I'm a bloke, I'm a bloke, I'm a bloke, no I'm not". I can't say I ever thought much to this.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 2nd and final chart topper to date for Celine Dion which was take from "The Titanic" movie. I remember how big that film was so it was almost inevitable that this would get to number one. It's also a depressing film given that people die at the end so I guess it's appropriate to have a depressing song for it. Musically though its just another Celine Dion record.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 7th Top 40 hit for Busta Rhymes which became his highest charting single to this point. It samples the Knight Rider theme which works really well. The verses are rapped quite calmly but then it gets more aggressive in the chorus. Absolutely love this record.
Verdict - Good
It had been 10 years since Run DMC had last been in the Top 40. This Jason Nevins remix of their 1983 record took them to the top of the charts and ended the Spice Girls run of number ones. It also made its way onto several dance compilations which validated me liking this record.
Verdict - Good
If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 7.5/30, or 25%. A slight improvement.
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